re: Louisianians who moved away, do you find the food to be as good?

The food isn't as good. Full stop.

But the reason isn't necessarily ingredients or the cook. I've seen local restaurants open and have great flavor profiles on some dishes and come back half a year later and the flavors have been dumbed down to what the locals want.

The piedmont of the Atlantic Coast states is infamous for its bland food. My mother may have never refilled her pepper shaker. A restaurant on I-81 which has stand in line crowds....has no flavor at all on any of their blandly cooked meats. And real smoked hams....most people don't know how to use them as seasoning.

In Oklahoma, a Chinese restaurant serves rice with their stir fried foods and a plate of sliced white bread as well. I remember another customer get agitated when he thought they'd forgot to bring him his white bread with his meal.

A spice like Chinese Five Spice: should taste as if ground that day. One major spice seller warns you, when you buy theirs, that its strong. I guess people are used to buying it in plastic bags that have sat in the sun on a shelf for five years.

There's no easy answer for restaurants because they need to keep their local customers happy and returning to eat